When we remember the beginning of the use of relics in the catacombs we can better understand the development of the practice.
The former opinion of the Catacombswas that they were used for secret worship by the persecuted Christians, but now we know that they were burial-places under the protection of Roman law, with entrances opening on the public roads.
Late researches concerning theCatacombs of Rome have thrown much light upon the early use of relics.
In these hot catacombs we had forgotten the cold wind that blew outside, and the physiognomy of the Memphite desert, the aspects of horror that were awaiting us above had vanished from our mind.
But that day of sorrow, misery, and rage, I shall carry to the Catacombs of Age, Photographically lined On the tablet of my mind, When a yesterday has faded from its page!
I shall carry to the Catacombs of Age, Photographically lined On the tablet of my mind, When a yesterday has faded from its page!
From the time indeed when St. Silvester passed from the catacombs to the Lateran palace, to the time when the Vandal robbers desolated Rome under the eyes of St. Leo, the Popes were not captives.
He adds that he has heard the story of this wonderful escape from the catacombs told over and over by M.
He remembered at last to have heard that these catacombswere once used as receptacles for the dead, in order to relieve the overpeopled graveyards.
And so we left the Catacombs and went back to town, and dad began to show life again.
Tradition tells of a schoolmaster who attempted to explore these catacombs without a guide, in company with a troop of his pupils, and, according to the story, the whole party lost their way and perished miserably.
The entire length of the catacombs as they now exist is computed to be fifteen miles, though there are no authentic statistics about them.
The origin of the catacombs and their real design are lost in antiquity, but they are known to have existed in the days of Roman sovereignty here, that is, over two thousand years ago.
Near the entrance to the catacombs is the Grotto of St. Paul, over which an unpretentious chapel is built, dedicated to the memory of the Apostle to the Gentiles.
Portions of these catacombs have been walled up in modern times, since a second party of visitors became lost in them.
They stopped at the foot of the Catacombs among the first pools of the Lagoon.
Accidents, however, frequently took place; and at present no one enters the catacombs except at certain periods of the year, when the engineers have to make a formal report as to their condition.
Some forty or fifty years ago the catacombs were the object of daily visits, and the sight was one which every visitor to Paris felt called upon to see.
At other points the walls of the catacombs have, by some peculiarity of construction or of natural form, suggested legendary ideas.
It has already, however, been mentioned that a portion of the catacombs separates the Val de Grâce from its foundations; and a word may here not inappropriately be said of underground Paris.
Between the church where the hearts of royal princes were once deposited, and the catacombs where nameless human remains are still preserved, there is but little connection.
To the east was the necropolis of Bonaria, where both Punic and Roman tombs exist, and where, on the site of the present cemetery, Christian catacombs have been discovered (F.
The Catacombs stand in a sort of garden or vineyard.
I made an expedition to the Catacombs of San Calisto fuori Porta San Sebastiano.
They have been obtained also not unfrequently in Egyptian catacombs accompanying relics long prior to the Roman era.
Barclay and Mr. Abernethy, carried out an extensive series of measurements of crania, chiefly from examples found in the catacombs of Paris, and preserved in the University Museum there.
Many catacombs are known to exist in Teneriffe; the most celebrated is that of Baranco de Herque, between Arico and Guimar, in the Abona country: it was discovered during the time that Clarijo wrote his Noticias.
From time to time new catacombsare discovered in the Canary islands.
He had come from the dark Catacombs where he had whispered words of deliverance and redemption with his wretched brethren.
And in this wise, in these catacombs of St. Calixtus, in less than four centuries, the Christians excavated more than ten miles of galleries, in which more than a million of their dead must have been laid to rest.
At a question from Pierre, whose astonishment was increasing, he admitted that the catacombs had been mere cemeteries at the outset, when no religious ceremonies had been celebrated in them.
Was it Pope Damasus, the first great builder, the man of letters who took delight in intellectual matters, the ardent believer who is said to have opened the Catacombs to the piety of the faithful?
He had beheld the catacombs through the magnifying glass of those imaginative authors, and had believed them to be vast, similar to subterranean cities, with broad highways and spacious halls, fit for the accommodation of vast crowds.
Such days as those which he had spent on the Palatine and along the Appian Way, in the Catacombs and at St. Peter's, grievously disturbed him, spoilt his dream of Christianity rejuvenated and triumphant.
Pierre fortunately found there some French Trappists, who guard thesecatacombs and show them to strangers.
Yes, provided you haven't the Catacombs in mind, or that awful church with bones and skulls for decorations.
No Catacombs to-day, only Capo di Monte," returned Aunt Caroline.
We might stop at the Catacombs to-day, if you wish.
Yes, my dear, it was dedicated to Santa Maria ad Martyres, and naturally this was regarded as a more fitting place than the Catacombs for their final interment.
The catacombs are those portions of the ancient stone-quarries under the city which have been used as municipal ossuaries since 1786.
Mole travels on, but finds the steering A harder task of pioneering Than when he thridded through the strait Blind catacombs that ancient fate Had carved for him.
If such were my desire, the steel of John of the Catacombs were swifter.
But before addressing himself further to John of the Catacombs he glanced round cautiously.
John of the Catacombs stared at the speaker as if at a loss to comprehend his meaning.
Benilo held out a purse which John of the Catacombsgreedily devoured with his eyes.
And where, by the way, may a pair of good eyes discover John of the Catacombs in case of urgent need?
John of the Catacombs seemed to yield gradually to the force of the other's arguments.
With a quick nod of understanding, the Grand Chamberlain and John of the Catacombs quitted the steps of S.
John of the Catacombs looked like a corpse returned to earth, to write his memoirs.
Of my evil brother an evil instrument," replied John of the Catacombs enigmatically.
John of the Catacombs preceded his new patron through the tall weeds which almost concealed him from view, until they reached a clearing not far from the river, whose turbid waves rolled sluggishly towards Ostia.
With a yell as if he had seen a wild beast crouching for its deadly spring, John of the Catacombs sprang up, only to be instantly struck down by a mighty blow from the commander's gauntleted hand.
John of the Catacombs shivered, but did not reply, while Eckhardt scrutinized the monk indicated by the pilgrim, as well as the glare of the torches and their delusive light would permit.
No man would have braved John of the Catacombs and lived.
In the art of the catacombs they sit or recline in the ordinary attitude of banqueters.
His original epitaph was discovered in the catacombs (see Kraus, Roma sotterranea, p.
EN#43] Rounding the reef to the north, we found three catacombs in the worst condition: one of them showed holes drilled in the façade.
The peculiarities and the rare ornaments will be noticed when describing each receptacle; taken as a whole, they are evidently rude and barbarous forms of the artistic catacombs and tower-tombs that characterize Petra and Palmyra.
A bat flew by, scurrying towards the Catacombs of Alexander,--a shadow lay upon the land.
I will seek for catacombs where we may pray, and exhort, and encourage each other to struggle on with unflagging zeal.
Bulliwinkle took that part of yours in the catacombs scene, and you ought to have heard the bones of the early Christians rattle when he bellered out the lecture.
